Transerfing states after basic.

April 22nd, 2013, 10:33 AM

I am currently 17 living in Indiana and probably going to enlist to the Guard at the end of the year. After completing my basic training, would I be able to do my AIT in a different state? If I do my basics here in IN probably at Camp Atterbury I'm assuming, would I be able to do my AIT in Florida?

You wouldn't do BCT at Camp Atterbury, and you don't choose where you do your training. You will go to one of four Basic Training locations: Ft. Benning (GA), Ft. Jackson (SC), Ft. Leonard Wood (MO), or Ft. Sill (OK). AIT is dependent upon which MOS you sign up for.

Now if you're talking actually transferring states after BCT and AIT, as in the state you will live and serve in, that is an entirely different story.

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@eqmcclure: Ahhh, I wasnt really sure where I'd be going... I was just assuming things I guess. After I complete my AIT training, would I be able to transfer to Florida, as in the state i would want to live and serve in. Im thinking about doing Military Police, if theres a MOS opening for MP in Florida, could i sign up for it?

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@eqmcclure: Ahhh, I wasnt really sure where I'd be going... I was just assuming things I guess. After I complete my AIT training, would I be able to transfer to Florida, as in the state i would want to live and serve in. Im thinking about doing Military Police, if theres a MOS opening for MP in Florida, could i sign up for it?

If there is an expectation that you're going to move right after or shortly after completing your BCT and AIT, my suggestion and others would agree (as we have many times before) that it would likely be in your best interest to just join the FL Guard as opposed to IL.

The reason behind that is this. Say you join the IL Guard and get a slot for an MP which is what you want. You go to BCT, AIT etc. and then decide you want to move. You start the process for what is called an Interstate Transfer (IST) only to find out that FL either doesn't have any MPs or simply doesn't have any openings right now. There would be nothing for you to transfer into in FL so you'd be stuck like a duck.

Do yourself a favor in that case and just contact a recruiter in FL. Even if you aren't geograpically located there, recruiters deal with these type enlistments all the time.

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If there is an expectation that you're going to move right after or shortly after completing your BCT and AIT, my suggestion and others would agree (as we have many times before) that it would likely be in your best interest to just join the FL Guard as opposed to IL.

The reason behind that is this. Say you join the IL Guard and get a slot for an MP which is what you want. You go to BCT, AIT etc. and then decide you want to move. You start the process for what is called an Interstate Transfer (IST) only to find out that FL either doesn't have any MPs or simply doesn't have any openings right now. There would be nothing for you to transfer into in FL so you'd be stuck like a duck.

Do yourself a favor in that case and just contact a recruiter in FL. Even if you aren't geograpically located there, recruiters deal with these type enlistments all the time.

Alright, thanks for your help! And I did some looking around, the nearest MP position in my area is still about a 70 mile trip away. Going to florida first may be in my best interest.

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Alright, thanks for your help! And I did some looking around, the nearest MP position in my area is still about a 70 mile trip away. Going to florida first may be in my best interest.

If 70 miles is excessive for you, you might just want to re-look the Guard thing.

I drive 120 miles just to drill for OCS. There are others in my class that drive 3-4 times further than I do, we're talking 4 to 5 hours at least. I also drive to a different state, which is not uncommon in the Guard at all because as long as you are willing to travel there is no restriction to keep you from joining the Guard in another state. There are also guys all across this country that hop on planes once a month to go drill with Guard SF units because they want to be hooah hooah.

At the end of the day though, the only one that is going to care about your career is you. Make the decision that is going to make your life easiest.